1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of garment or clothes retainers, and more particularly to a novel, partial waistbelt useful in maintaining the wearer's clothes in place so as to prevent inadvertent dislodgement or displacement of clothing as it is worn.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In the past, numerous problems and difficulties have been encountered by both men and women when wearing separate clothing such as shirts and trousers for a man and blouses and skirts for a woman. These problems stem largely from the fact that as the wearer moves and manipulates his or her body, the shirt or blouse has a tendency to "ride" or substantially move with respect to the trousers or skirt so that in many instances, the shirt or blouse will have a disheveled and unsightly look due to unwanted excess of material outside of the trouser or skirt. One attempt has been made to maintain or retain the shirt or blouse in proper position with respect to a trouser or skirt which includes tufted material placed on the inside waist portion of the trousers or skirt so that it will provide a frictional engagement with the surface of the shirt or blouse against which it bears. However, such a construction of the trouser or skirt is expensive and must be done by the original manufacturer. In those instances where no such frictional means has been originally provided in the garment, the above-noted problem still exists.
Also, a single waistbelt having a friction surface on one side has been used. Since the smooth side of the belt permits unwanted gathering of the material or pulling out of the material from the waistband of the trouser or skirt, it has been proven inoperative and unacceptable for its intended purpose.
The cut of many trousers, for both males and females, results in a waistband which is positioned approximately at the waist of the wearer, i.e., above the wearer's hips. Whether or not a belt is worn, the full weight of the trousers must be supported from the waistband. The waistband must be tightened against the stomach sufficiently to support the trousers, or the trousers will have a tendency to slip down so that the waistband rests on the wearer's hips. These trousers often have an unfashionable look if they are worn other than where intended, and can be unsightly and uncomfortable when a belt is tightly cinched around the waist. Both problems are especially acute for many overweight persons, especially those with protruding stomachs. In order to support the trousers in approximately the desired position, the waistband must be belted quite tightly, or the front portion of the trousers raised to where they will rest on the upper side of the stomach bulge. Otherwise, the waistband of the trousers tends to slip down in front to a position generally below the stomach bulge. This results in the trousers hanging improperly throughout their length, with the waistband being lower in front than in back.
Attempts have been made to overcome this problem in the past, for example the "Napped Elastic Waistband", U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,291. Perhaps the best known example is the development of suspenders, which transfer the weight of the trousers to the shoulders while holding the waistband relatively level. The use of suspenders has a number of obvious drawbacks, including the fact that the suspenders are visible unless covered by a coat or other garment. Further drawbacks include the fact that the elastic material which generally must be used for suspenders can stretch or can be pulled out of shape, and the trousers may "ride up" in back when the wearer bends over. Additionally, many people are uncomfortable with the fact that the weight is being supported from the shoulders rather than at the waist/hip region of the body.
Various attempts have been made to provide a supporting device in which the weight of the trousers is supported on the hips while the waistband remains at the wearer's waist level. These attempts have included, for example, the use of long flexible rods which wrap around the wearer's hips and attach to the waistband at various points. Other attempted solutions to this problem include the use of a lower belt worn around the hips. Such an apparatus employs a plurality of stiff vertical members coupled to a second belt, which is in turn attached to the waistband of the trousers.
The solutions proposed by the prior art have several important drawbacks. Such previous solutions are difficult to adjust to various sizes. Devices presently known in the art are difficult and cumbersome to use, and are complicated in construction. This complexity deters the use of such devices, and makes them expensive to produce. Present devices are generally uncomfortable to wear, and some have relatively large mechanical parts which show through the trousers.
Therefore, a long-standing need has existed to provide a novel waistband which may be worn between the inside waist portion of a trouser or skirt and the outside portion of a shirt or blouse so that the shirt or blouse will not gather or ride out of position as the wearer moves his or her body about. Such a retainer must be operable whether the composition of the shirt or blouse is of a cotton, wool or slippery silk material.